


what's in a name?

by blushymika



Category: Naruto
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Forehead Kisses, Hair Washing, Light Angst, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-14 17:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18056915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blushymika/pseuds/blushymika
Summary: One thing’s for certain: Tenzo likes the way Kakashi says one of his names.





	what's in a name?

**Author's Note:**

> i love this pairing so so much i couldn't help myself when i wrote this 
> 
> (kakashi is 17 and tenzo is 13 in this setting)

Tenzo has gone by a few too many names during his life as an Anbu soldier that he’s become unsure about whom he really is. That’s to be expected. After all, concealing your identity is vital for all of Konoha’s soldiers. This rule, along with many others, was ingrained into his head before his age could even hit double digits. However, one thing’s for certain: he likes the way Kakashi says _one_ of his names.

“Tenzo,” his captain says before he removes the white, patterned mask from his face. Then, he smiles, the corners of his eye crinkling. “Good work today.”

Somehow, in spite of his curiosity about the secret underneath Kakashi’s mask, he’s grateful for it. Tenzo has been on many missions where faking a smile has been an important and efficient technique for acquiring vital information.

Therefore, it’s easy for all Anbu to fake a smile every once in awhile. Meanwhile, in terms of their eyes, that’s an entirely different situation.

The smile and the happiness it holds, Tenzo learns, is not concealed within the lips. It lies inside the eyes and, with Kakashi, his eyes are all he is allowed to see.

“Tenzo!” Kakashi scolds with both hands on his hips. This time, his eyebrows are furrowed and there’s a strain in his voice. “You have to be more careful. There’s no zoning out in the middle of a mission. You know that, don’t you?”

Of course he does. He knows it maybe too well and so does the rest of Team Ro. There’s no one that Tenzo can blame his carelessness on but himself, even if it is _partially_ Kakashi’s fault.

No one told Kakashi to kneel so closely beside him. No one told Kakashi to press himself right up against his side. No one told Kakashi’s arms and shoulders to look so good in the first place.

Although it is Tenzo’s fault for checking out his crush during a life threatening situation. He can definitely give Kakashi that.

“Yes, senpai,” Tenzo replies sheepishly and reaches behind him to scratch the back of his head. “I’ll do better for you next time for sure.”

When Tenzo lowers his head, bowing politely to his captain before making his way into the locker room, he doesn’t notice the way Kakashi’s expression falls from one of aggravation to concern.  

“Tenzo…,” his friend mumbles after taking a seat beside the boy in question. “You look like a mess.”

It’s hard to resist the urge to smile because of Kakashi’s bluntness, Tenzo realizes, even though he’s currently adorned with scattered splashes of dried blood.

He nods in agreement, letting Kakashi know that he knows before Tenzo goes back to kicking his feet against the current of the river.

“Maa, aren’t you going to do something about it?” Kakashi asks, his eye wandering over his teammate. “You have blood all over your face and in your hair. It’s gross, really.”

“I will later, Kakashi-senpai,” Tenzo answers. “The mission isn’t over yet, is it?”

“It isn’t.” Kakashi tells him, but a shrug of indifference follows his response. “That doesn’t mean that you have to go around smelling like dried, old blood though,” he explains. “I won’t tolerate it, especially not on my team.

“Take care of yourself, Tenzo.”

After Kakashi finishes speaking, Tenzo raises his hand, letting his fingers run through his long hair. Then, he turns back towards Kakashi with the same sheepish smile he had given the former two weeks ago. “I suppose it is pretty disgusting,” Tenzo notes. “It’s tangled into my hair.”

“It definitely is disgusting,” Kakashi confirms for him.

“You’ve been very blunt today, senpai,” Tenzo comments, giving the water below him a small smile.

Kakashi hums thoughtfully, letting the sounds of the river and the chirping birds fill in the empty, awkward gaps of what was their conversation. Tenzo swallows nervously, his fingers grasping the grass that surrounds the both of them.

“Come here.”

Tenzo lifts his head. He stares at Kakashi for a few seconds, not understanding his demand. “Senpai?” he asks, wanting clarification.

Kakashi shakes his head to himself as he turns away while pulling his mask further up and over his face. He’s hiding, Tenzo notices, but there’s no point in noticing something if he’s still oblivious to its reason.

“Come here…,” Kakashi repeats. “I’ll wash your hair for you.”

Tenzo hesitates for a second in disbelief and almost falls headfirst into the river. “You want to wash my hair?” he repeats, the two Anbu soldiers suddenly becoming parrots.

“Yes. Is that okay?”

“Is this an order, captain?”

“No… N-No, of course not!” Kakashi exclaims, taking a moment to compose himself before he lets out an exasperated sigh. “Ah, never mind. Forget about it, Tenzo. This time it’s an order.”

Tenzo’s face flushes pink and then he starts to imagine how it would feel like to have Kakashi’s calloused, strong hands in his hair. His captain would be gentle because that’s how he is. At least, that’s how he’s been with Tenzo. Even when Tenzo had made an attempt on Kakashi’s life, the latter had still saved him. Kakashi has done a lot for Tenzo. By becoming Kakashi’s teammate and friend, Tenzo abandoned his life as Kinoe and the Root division.

Now, he is Tenzo, a member of Team Ro, and it’s all thanks to Kakashi.

“Senpai,” Tenzo says softly. “May I disobey your orders just this once?”

Kakashi noticeably stiffens and his fingers twitch by his side. “Yes,” he blurts out, not letting himself think any further. Only bad things will come out from overthinking too much; he’s learned that the hard way. “Unless you’re planning on telling the rest of them about what I just asked you, then no. Otherwise… yes, you may.”

Tenzo smiles, allowing Kakashi to see it form on his face. Suddenly, the tension between them dissipates and is carried away by the next gust of wind. Now, they’re simply just Kakashi and Tenzo again.

“Then I’d like it very much if you washed my hair,” Tenzo tells him, watching as Kakashi wanders off to grab a small bowl from his bag. His captain stands up shakily, his composure starting to crumble. “Thank you.”

Kakashi nods and flashes his friend a masked smile. There isn’t much to see, but nonetheless Tenzo appreciates it.

When Kakashi comes back, he fills the wooden bowl with water and takes a seat on the grass behind Tenzo. Considering how Tenzo is rather short compared to Kakashi, there isn’t a need for the older boy to kneel to properly wash Tenzo’s hair. The Anbu captain is instantly grateful for his height when he realizes that if Tenzo were to lean back — just a little bit — his head would be resting against Kakashi’s chest.

However, Kakashi pushes the thought away. This isn’t the time to be selfish.

After tearing himself away from his delusions, Kakashi reaches out to sweep Tenzo’s hair over his shoulders until all of the strands are laid out along his back. Then, Kakashi slowly and gently pours the water over Tenzo’s head.

“Is this okay?” he asks, unsure.

Tenzo hides his smile this time for it is far too giddy to show his captain. The uncertainty in Kakashi’s voice spikes interest in Tenzo’s heart as he nods, letting Kakashi knows that this is fine, even more than just fine.

“It’s not too cold?”

“It’s fine, Kakashi-senpai,” Tenzo reassures. “Are… Are you worried?”

“Yes,” Kakashi nods, even though he knows that Tenzo can’t see him. Although that is what he wants. If Tenzo saw Kakashi for whom he truly is, he would definitely make a break for it. “It would be troublesome if you caught a cold in the middle of a mission.”

Tenzo laughs a little, feeling embarrassed by what he thought Kakashi was going to say. _Because I like you_ , Kakashi might have said. _Because you’re special to me_ , he could have said. “You’re right,” he agrees. “I wouldn’t want to become a burden to you, senpai.”

Kakashi stays silent this time. He has a lot of things he wants to say. He wants to tell Tenzo that he didn’t mean for Tenzo to interpret his statement in that manner. He wants to tell Tenzo that he’s worried about him. That he always is and it isn’t just because Kakashi’s his captain and he has to take care of him.

The older boy’s tongue is tied. His heart is racing within its cage as all of his confessions pile up inside his throat. He feels like he’s going to explode and suddenly his throat is dry, like he had spent the entire day swallowing the sand from the beach they had passed by hours ago.

Kakashi’s hands are shaking. It’s strange, Tenzo notes while Kakashi’s fingers massage his scalp.

“You don’t have to do that for me, captain,” Tenzo pointed out.

He immediately wants to take back what he says because, in the thirteen years of his life, nothing has felt better than Kakashi washing and secretly playing with his hair. However, right now, Kakashi seems different. Too different that he may have done something to make Kakashi uncomfortable.

Right now, his captain is trembling. He seems fragile, vulnerable, delicate, and the other thing that Hatake Kakashi isn’t: weak.

“No, it’s okay,” Kakashi sputters, taking a second to pull his mask higher. His face is pink. He’s blushing softly and it would be terrible if one of their teammates is able to catch Kakashi like this.

_Team Ro’s Secret Comes Out: Captain Hatake Is a Blushing School Girl in Disguise._

The words resonate in his mind like a newspaper headline and it’s absolutely terrifying, horrifying, and nerve wracking for Kakashi to think about, so he doesn’t.

He focuses on the task at hand. He thinks about Tenzo.

Kakashi swallows, trying to moisturize his throat at least a little bit as he reaches around Tenzo to fill the bowl with more water. As he completes the action, he notices the blood on his hands from Tenzo’s hair and the sight is nothing but comforting to Kakashi.

It isn’t because he’s a cruel person because, to be frank, Kakashi doesn’t find pleasure in taking lives. When he earned his reputation of being cold blooded, Kakashi didn’t know what to make of it. When Minato-sensei had enrolled him into Anbu, Kakashi saw and still sees his job as a way to fill the hole inside his heart. The holes that Obito and Rin left. The holes that haven’t come close to being filled even after four long years as a soldier for his village, Konohagakure.

There isn’t a way for Kakashi to recover from the guilt of taking his friend’s life and breaking his promise to another friend. Pleasure can’t help him with something like that and happiness has been a scarcity in Kakashi’s life ever since his father had passed away.

Right now, the blood on his hands isn’t signifying yet another act of taking an enemy ninja’s life. This time, the blood on his hands is signifying the fact that he is helping someone important in his life. He’s helping Tenzo. He isn’t hurting Tenzo. He isn’t _killing_ Tenzo. He is the cause of the gentle, kind, and compassionate smile on Tenzo’s face.

That, at least, makes Kakashi a little happy.

“Here, Tenzo. I’m done.”

A little part of Tenzo’s heart deflates. He turns around, his eyes meeting Kakashi’s. In response, his captain gives him another little, masked smile.

“Thank you, Kakashi-senpai,” Tenzo says, smiling before he lets out a small burst of laughter when Kakashi presses a cloth over his wet hair. “I appreciate it.”

“No need to thank me, Tenzo,” Kakashi began, keeping his hands by his sides. “Don’t forget to wash your face.”

Something inside Tenzo wants him to ask Kakashi to help him with that too, but fortunately, he’s able to resist his heart’s usual techniques of persuasion. Ever since he met Kakashi, he’s forced himself to grow stubborn and accustomed to his heart’s desires.

Hopefully, Tenzo won’t have to stay in this daunting battle with his heart for much longer, but when Kakashi gets up and leaves without another word, he thinks he’ll have to keep fighting for at least another four years.

 

* * *

 

Finally, night arrives and darkness sweeps its way across the sky. As if on cue, the current of the river slows down and down until it’s quiet enough that Tenzo feels like he doesn’t have to constantly pee anymore. After all, with where he’s resting right now, peeing his pants in his sleep wouldn’t be the best thing to do. Well, in any situation, really.

Since Yugao had carelessly forgotten her sleeping bag, Kakashi, as the good captain he is, gave her everything she needed for the night.

“Thank you, senpai,” Yugao had said, bowing her head. “Thank you so much. I will never do something so embarrassing ever again.”

Kakashi sighed, but Tenzo caught the timid smile that started to form beneath his mask. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone makes mistakes, even me,” he tells her. “Also stop calling me senpai, Yugao. It’s unnecessary, yeah?”

“Yes, sen—” Yugao stops, catching herself before she can finish. Then, she corrects herself: “Yes, Kakashi.”

Nodding, Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder as a sign of his silent forgiveness.

Now, Kakashi is here. Beside Tenzo. In Tenzo’s sleeping bag.

They have their backs to each other and the first thing Tenzo notices is that Kakashi isn’t asleep yet. Roughly estimating, Tenzo thinks it’s been about half an hour since Team Ro had decided to sleep for the night, so why is their captain still awake?

Tenzo leans over, propping himself up with his elbow. “Captain? Why are you awake?”

Kakashi doesn’t startle, which doesn’t surprise Tenzo at all. He turns around until he’s on his back and looking up at both Tenzo and the stars that are scattered across the black sky.

“Maa, no reason,” he lies, but Tenzo isn’t able to catch it; with a person like Kakashi, it makes sense that he would be a good liar. “Sleeping problems, I guess.”

“Are you looking out for everyone?” Tenzo asks, suddenly thankful for the darkness that surrounds them and hides his flushed face. It’s not an everyday thing where Tenzo gets to sleep so closely to Kakashi or to have Kakashi staring up at him like that.

Kakashi blinks once, and then twice. He shrugs. “Aw, you caught me,” he says, not expecting Tenzo to decipher one of the two reasons why he hasn’t gone to sleep yet. “Why are you awake?”

Tenzo bites his lip, deciding to chew on the inside of his cheek. In that instance, he blurts out: “The river keeps making me feel like I need to pee.”

A few seconds of silence, besides the sounds of flowing river water, pass in between the two; however, to Tenzo, it feels like at least eight years.

Kakashi laughs. His hand is placed over his mouth, like he’s trying not to laugh too loudly because it would wake the others. That’s typical behaviour from Kakashi, to place Team Ro above everything else. His laugh still sounds like wind chimes, Tenzo realizes. Although now it is a little deeper, considering how Kakashi is older now. Tenzo is older now too. He’s no longer the ten-year-old Kinoe that had foolishly decided to attack legendary fourteen-year-old Hatake Kakashi. Now, Tenzo is thirteen while Kakashi has just turned seventeen. (Tenzo had given him a little, wooden dog sculpture that he created himself. Kakashi was overjoyed, even though he tried not to show it too much.)

“I see,” Kakashi says, still laughing. “It bothers you that much?”

Tenzo nods.

“Let’s hope that you don’t wet yourself tonight, then,” Kakashi teases, his eye meeting Tenzo’s.

Tenzo huffs out a laugh. “That would be embarrassing…”

Kakashi hums in agreement, closing his right eye before resting on his folded arms underneath his head.

Tenzo smiles, now sitting up above Kakashi as he watches him. In this moment, underneath the stars and sleeping in the same bed (well, in this case, it is a sleeping bag), it is strangely ro— he stops thinking, not letting his heart continue because he would never dare. He switches instead, trying to let his heart and mind wander from their current circumstance. Tenzo stops again, focusing on one thing in particular:

“Why do you not let anyone else call you senpai?”

He hears Kakashi cough quietly with his right eye now open again.

“Why are you asking?” Kakashi answers Tenzo with his own question and the latter can’t understand why his captain is avoiding his question. That is, unless he has something to hide or Kakashi is just messing with him again.

“It’s a little weird, that’s all,” Tenzo confesses. “Why am I the exception?”

Kakashi makes eye contact with him now, averting his gaze from the stars to Tenzo, even though both of these things are equally wondrous to each other. “I’m not a person that someone should look up to,” he tells him. “I shouldn’t be a role model to anyone, really. That’s it.”

Tenzo doesn’t say anything. He knows that Kakashi doesn’t think of himself very highly, but Kakashi still hasn’t answered his question: _why am I the exception_?

“You haven’t answered my question yet, Kakashi-senpai.”

“I don’t know, Tenzo,” Kakashi answers firmly, his tone alone implying that he doesn’t want Tenzo to pry any further than he has already. “Sorry.”

But Kakashi does know. He’s known ever since Tenzo started calling him senpai in the first place. He never asked for it, but he’s always appreciated it. As the selfish person he is, Kakashi hasn’t been able to convince himself to put a stop to it.

“No, I’m sorry,” Tenzo apologizes, lying back down beside Kakashi. “It’s not my place to ask such personal things, captain.”

 _That’s not it_.

“It’s okay,” Kakashi says anyways and he turns around, facing Tenzo’s back. “Would you turn around for a second?”

Tenzo listens, turning around because this is Kakashi, his friend.

Kakashi reaches his hand out from the sleeping bag, lifting it until he’s placing it on top of Tenzo’s head. Tenzo tries not to make a sound. Kakashi is silent as he allows his fingers to slide lower down Tenzo’s head until he isn’t touching his teammate anymore.

“Your hair’s still a little wet.”

“Oh…”

Kakashi blinks almost nervously. “My d— someone told me that you’ll get a headache if you sleep with your hair wet,” he elaborated. “So you should let it dry more.”

Tenzo looks at Kakashi curiously, missing his touch already. “It’s okay. I’ll keep warm with you here.”

 _With you here_.

Kakashi sputters again for the second time that day.

“O-Okay,” he says, smothering his face into the pillow. “Just don’t get a cold, like I said before.”

His voice is even more muffled than it usually is, Tenzo smiles, and he starts to wonder if Kakashi actually sleeps with his mask on. Probably not, he reasons with himself, but he’s making an exception for tonight since Tenzo is here with him.

“I won’t,” Tenzo says softly, but soundly.

“Good.”

Again, it’s silent between the two. They’re still looking at each other, despite how half of Kakashi’s face is still smothered into the pillow. Frankly, Tenzo thinks it’s cute to see his captain like this. No more stern, strict Anbu captain, only Hatake Kakashi.

“Tenzo,” Kakashi whispers and Tenzo almost doesn’t catch it. “Thank you for the birthday present. I didn’t thank you properly before.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Tenzo nods. It’s been a month since Kakashi’s birthday and Kakashi had thanked him perfectly, so Tenzo doesn’t know why he’s saying this now, but he doesn’t question it. “You’re welcome, senpai. I’m glad you liked it, but you thanked me just fine.”

“I didn’t,” Kakashi tells him. “Maa, actually, my summons wanted me to thank you for them, especially Pakkun.”

Somehow, Tenzo smiles even wider. “I’ll make seven more sculptures for the rest of your dogs, Kakashi-senpai, if it makes them happy.”

 _If it makes you happy_.

Then, something magical happens. Well, as magical as it can get in a world like this.

In a world full of fighting, war, and bloodshed, Kakashi quickly pulls down his mask and kisses Tenzo’s forehead. It lasts for three seconds exactly (he’s counting) and Tenzo could only hope that the feeling lasts for centuries.

Unfortunately, Kakashi pulls away, tugging his mask back and over his face. He’s blushing and Tenzo can see it this time, in spite of the darkness. It’s adorable and it entices another blush to rise to his own face, like Kakashi had just started a domino effect.

The Anbu captain turns back around, forcing Tenzo to face his back.

“Goodnight, Tenzo,” Kakashi mumbles.

Tenzo continues blushing. He scoots over and closer to Kakashi, finally giving in to one of his heart’s desires. He smiles, pressing his face against Kakashi’s back.

“Goodnight, Kakashi-senpai.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! <3


End file.
